Monday, December 17, 2007

Aloha, and welcome to the 184th edition of The Run-Off Groove. I am John Book, welcome.

As I'm compiling this week's column, I received word that one of the biggest legends of the record industry has died. The incredible Joel Dorn passed away today at the age of 65. Dorn was one of most celebrated record producers of the 1960's and 1970's, notable for the huge amount of work he did with Atlantic Records, be it Ray Charles, Roberta Flack, Charles Mingus, Herbie Mann, Aretha Franklin, it's safe to say that during any time of the day, you will hear something on the radio that he produced. Even as Atlantic made more money with the likes of Led Zeppelin and Cream, it didn't stop Dorn from releasing album after album, single after single that would eventually become classics. While one can measure the level of his success, it is still overwhelming to look at a list and go "he did all of that, didn't he?" For me, Atlantic Records was a label I pretty much grew up with, LP's and 45's with the Atlantic logo were plentiful in my household. As I grew older and began to look into music a bit more, Dorn was a name that kept popping up. To be able to be that close to the music, and not do it only for the money, but for the music, it was admirable. His last record label was Hyena, who released some great music from Mushroom, Skerik, John Ellis, Lafayette Gilchrist, all of which I've reviewed in this column. He was someone I looked up to because he was the kind of guy who had the occupation I always wanted, at a time when it was possible to have those kind of jobs in the recording industry. Look at some of your soul, funk, and jazz albums on Atlantic between 1967-1974, and there's a good chance he had something to do with it. Get it, place it on the turntable or put it in the CD player, and just listen, in honor of Mr. Dorn. r.i.p.

There will be no music reviews this week, but they are being compiled for next week. Or if I'm lucky, by the end of this week, we'll see. Just around the corner, I will have reviews of new music by Malicious (I've played his album a number of times, and I look forward to sharing my views of it with you), Joe Dub, Witchdoctor, Land Of A Thousand Rappers, Sean P, Ashia, The Grizzly Owls, The Terrordactyls, Equal Time, Phillip Bimstein, Chris Humphrey, Melani L. Skybell, TheThe David Joel Quartet, Nomar Slevik, Piers Lawrence Quartet, Dorothy Doring, Brian Grosz, Oh Astro, Hendrik Meurkens, Tom Dempsey & Tim Ferguson, Annea Lockwood, Al Margolis/If, Bwana, and who knows what else lurks beyond the horizon. Keep in mind that I'm the only one doing these reviews, no staff, no committee. But these CD's are in, so fear not, I may have to create another jam packed column.

The thing about the end of the year is that every writer, critic, journalist, singer, and musician is expected to come up with a Best Of list. It has been a tradition of mine, and as each year passes, more music comes out and it becomes more difficult to pick THE best. I'm not afraid to admit that I have not listened to every single album that has been released in 2007, but I have no desire to hear Celine Dion or Wheat Cracker Palace, Broom Stick Hildafarsh or whatever. Would I listen to Miss Dion's music, sure, but I am certain that I would not make hers a personal favorite. There was a lot of jazz this year, and I only got a chance to hear maybe... 3 percent of everything? Lots of hip-hop, but I haven't even heard the new Ghostface Killah, Wu-Tang Clan or the new Lupe Fiasco that comes out this week, so you might be asking, why should I even think you're qualified to come up with a "Best Of" list when you haven't even heard my personal best? For one, listening to music is not an Olympic sport. It's music.

What I can tell you is that 2007 was an incredible year for music across the board, or at least recorded music. The music industry seemed to fall apart like flakes, but it didn't stop people from creating and getting their sounds out to the world. Here is a partial list of some of my favorite albums this year:

I'm still adding to the list, but the above albums are those I had taken exception to. I do not like leaving anyone out, but the moment the album ended, I had a feeling it would be something I would not only listen to in five to ten years, but an album I hope people will rediscover in that same amount of time and find it to be incredible, maybe more than how I hear it. I tried hard to not include compilations or "previously unreleased" work, because I eat them up like crazy.

Even with the albums I felt were "exceptions", there were others that I felt surpassed anything and (almost) everything else. I found myself at times being slightly bored with the routines of hip-hop, or maybe that should read "bored with hip-hop artists doing the same mundane shit over and over". Because of this, I found myself doing more exploring, without limitations. Rock rarely got adventurous, and you had to dig deeper to find anything that had to do with taking risks. Or simply put, when I put these albums on, I knew they would be on the top of my list. As the year went on, I kept on piling more and more music on the top, and it got to a point where I knew I could not pick just one personal favorite. The following is a partial list of what I feel were the Best Of 2007:

Look at the list, and it's a diverse range of sounds, from off the wall hip-hop to off the joint soul; from jazz that honored the spirit of New Orleans to Hawaiian music that honors the culture and people who create it; from adventurous pop to music with classical touches; from twisted electronica with beats moving at 220bpm, to avant-garde noise with drones that seem to go on forever. Hearing RF & Lili De La Mora was like being awake in a dream state and not wanting to wake up, while Mochipet seemed to take the boundaries of electronic music and kick it in the nuts. Robert Glasper shows you can hold true to the traditions of jazz while looking into the future for inspiration. He also wasn't afraid to let people know that he was a huge Dilla fan too. Then you have Charmaine Clamor, who proved that jazz is part of a universal language that can incorporate elements from other cultures, making it possible to speak out in a way that no other genre can do so well. Then get into Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and find out how you can make music that sounds like someone poking your eyes with pins, and still make it groove and funky with a violinist who can make sounds ranging from a delicat cry to a disgusting shriek.

If anyone asks you why there weren't any good music in 2007, print this list out and tell them to start buying some CD's.

That's it for The Run-Off Groove #184. Next time around, reviews, reviews, and more reviews. The music is piling high but I don't want it to get too high, so come back and we'll start things up once again.ce again.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Aloha, and welcome to the 183rd edition of The Run-Off Groove. This is a music column written by me, John Book, welcome. If you are new to this column and are wondering how a new column can have such a high number, the reason is because the column was once located at MusicForAmerica.org. The website was the home for close to four years, but with the website about to close down, I did not want to just fold this thing and move on, at least not yet. The column covers a wide range of music, from hip-hop to rock, funk to soul, jazz to Hawaiian, Americana to experimental. Why call it "the run-off groove"? The run-off groove is the part of the record where the needle eventually ends up, what is called the "matrix". In this matrix you will see a serious of letters and numbers. That information is often the catalog # for the album, but sometimes it can provide a lot more, such as the master number, etc. In other words, the extra information that only the select few know and car about. I'd like for my column to be the place where music fans can seek out that something extra. I can't satisfy everyone with my reviews, but with luck you will find something that you move you to buy a CD or check out their website or MySpace. Thus, The Run-Off Groove. I only have a small handful of music to review this week, partly due to the switchover, and partly due to "other stuff". But fear not, if you sent in music for me to review, they will be reviewed. Let's begin.

Artists like to be able to release albums at the end of the year, in order to cash in on holiday sales and to carry on throughout the new year. One album that fans have been anticipating is the brand new one from Mary J. Blige, Growing Pains (Geffen). I'll be honest, Mary has not released an album that has come close to her masterpiece, 1994's My Life, although to her credit she has gained a lot more fans in the last 13 yeas from being the self-proclaimed queen of hip-hop soul. Maybe it's the realization that Blige will never be able to hit the emotions she once had during My Life, and as she has said many times since then, she is a very different person. Her Mary album came close to being something unique and different from what came before, although some fans claimed that it was a sell-out tactic, her "white" album.

So what to make of Growing Pains? The title is a hint, she speaks as someone who is still going through the motions, finding life is still not paved with gold, and that while love can be a glorious thing, sometimes one has to go through the pain in order to make it through to the other side. Is this the album fans have been waiting for? Not quite. Songs like "Work That", "Feel Like A Woman", "Stay Down", and "Till The Morning" display some of the strengths that make Blige who she is as a singer, but by doing so, it still shows many of her limitations. She can belt it, but it rarely (if ever) goes any further than the initial burst of energy. The topics tend to be the same old thing we've heard before, and while one might argue there's so many ways of saying "I love you" or "I miss you", if one was to listen to the the songs on here that are sub-par, it seems she's running out of steam and resorts to extending the end of a word to show that she has style of grace. That's not style or grace, that's filling in the dead space. The music is alright, and her singing is okay, but the songs are just not up to her own standards.

But when the songs work, they work brilliantly, take for example the track she did with Ludacris, "Grown Woman". She's saying that she's a firecracker ready to explode, and that the cops will not be able to keep her down. She does this over an interpolated Funkadelic-ish beat, and the attitude is brash. It goes back to when she celebrated hip-hop to the fullest, but it's that of a woman who knows her place as an artist and what she had to do to get here. Ludacris drops his verse, and while I'm normally a Luda fan, sometimes his verse seems unnecessary. One of my favorite songs on here is when she makes a successful attempt at a pop record. "Smoke" has a nice Coldplay aura about it, and the interesting thing about it is that she sounds comfortable, her singing isn't forced and it has the potential to cross her over to an audience that may have otherwise ignored her for the last 15 years. When she sings and I procrastinated for only reasons I know/but I'm afraid to ask the mirror, the answers may sting, it seems like something that's too deep, but then you realize who you're listening to. This is that woman who can tap deep into herself, which in turn helps reveal a side of us (the listener) that might be too afraid to open up in such a manner. The album closes with "Come To Me (Peace)", where it's one part spiritual, one part emotional, looking for some kind of guidance in a world that at times seems a bit misguided. She takes it home here, and it helps make a so-so album decent enough to listen to one more time.

I would have preferred stronger songs in the vein of "Grown Woman", "Smoke", "Come To Me (Peace)", and "Shake Down", the latter a duet with Usher. The idea that this is just "another Mary album" doesn't cut it, she deserves better than this. It will suit those who have been fans of her music for the last few years. It does not capture the joy and pain of her first two albums, at least not the first half of Growing Pains, but by the second half she shows that she is capable of bringing herself up to the standard she once made for herself.

(Growing Pains will be released on December 18th, and is available through CD Universe.)

When it comes to digging for funk, as any cratedigger will tell you, the more RAER the better. Someone will come across an album that is considered mindblowing, everyone will want to hear it and they place it on their want list. One such album is by a band from Chicago who were called Boscoe, who brought together their love of funk and jazz with the power of Art Ensemble Of Chicago, the perspectives in potential of Sun Ra, and a political tongue that put them up there with some of the best. The band were only able to record one album, which is why it had been highly desired all these years. Thanks to the people at The Numero Group, the album has been reissued for the very first time.

You may listen to this album and feel as if you are either in a state or panic, or as if you've just discovered some long lost family. Either you're welcome or you're not, and part of that has to do with how solid this 6-piece band were. When you hear songs such as "He Keeps You", "Money Won't Save You", and "We Ain't Free", what you are hearing is a band who wanted to be heard and to make serious social and economic change. The liner notes from drummer Kwame Steve Cobb states that he knew they "wouldn't get any traction with a major record label, so we chose to record for our own label." From their own pockets, and fortunately with the assistance of engineer Malcolm Chisholm and producer Joseph Ehrenberg, this album sounds great 34 years after the fact. It doesn't sound primitive or raw, this easily measures up with The Last Poets, Gil Scott-Heron and Funkadelic, with a power in their playing which says "I can't take this shit, get me to the right people so I can be heard, now!". Bassist Ron Harris gets caught up in the groove to the point where he feels confident enough to groove in his own world, with the band knowing that he'll eventually move right back into the program.

There are a number of records why this album is so highly desired, now you're able to hear all eight of them.

(The Boscoe reissue is available as a CD and as an MP3 download directly from The Numero Group website.)

The Numero Group label have been getting some press for their series of Eccentric Soul compilations, which takes a nice deep dig into the sides of soul and funk that time has forgotten. That is, except for us pesky record collectors who are willing to hunt down every thrift store, garage sale, warehouse, and noodle shop to find those records that have been holding up dishes. The caked up goodies that may or may not have been sampled, may or may not have been used by a British DJ who damages the world with that one holy grail find.

The new CD in the series is called Eccentric Soul: The Outskirts Of Deep City, which takes a brief but in-depth look at a little known label out of Florida called Deep City Records. The label had done a compilation last year, and many felt that this was the cream of the crop. But one discover can lead to another, and sometimes even more. This CD is that "more", as the producers of the compilation were able to find reels of tapes from unknown sources, in boxes that should have been tossed out decades ago. One trail lead to another, and before you know it, there was the discover of other smaller, related labels.

To make a long story short, these sides were all recorded and put together at a time when there was a sense of pride in not only recording music, but wanting to become a part of a growing record industry, where any local music scene could proudly say "we want to be the Stax and Motown of our town". All of these times are solid from start to finish, primarily from the late 60's but with one track going as early as 1963. The compilation features early songs from the likes of Betty Wright and Clarence Reid, plus regional favorites such as Snoopy Dean, James Knight & The Butlers, and Frank Williams & The Rocketeers. Most of these tracks survived very well despite the condition of the tapes. A few of them do sound worn out, but the flaws give the recordings character and who knows, another week or month could have turned these tracks into dust. The Clarence Reid of 1967 sounds nothing like the Reid of 1969 when he did an album for Alston/Atco, and very distant from who he would become as Blowfly. What his songs do show is an incredible talent for songwriting, something he would do for many artists associated with Henry Stone and his long string of affiliated labels. Shades of Blowfly, and perhaps taking a few hints from Pigmeat Markham, lead Reid to put together "Nasty Dog Pt. 2" by The Nasty Dog Catchers. It's a nice dancer, and probably lead a lot of kids back then to do the dog and then some.

Jurassic 5 fans are sure to recognize Lynn Williams' "Don't Be Surprised" instantly, and in many ways becomes this compilation's equivalent of Lorraine Ellison's "Stay With Me" in terms of soulfulness and emotional impact.

The Outskirts Of Deep City has a number of other highlights too, including "Play With Fire Pt. 1" by The Rollers, which was sourced from a very crispy acetate. If you know anything about acetates, if you play a copy more than ten times, the record is "had it". You can tell this record has had better days, but obviously the master tapes no longer exist and this is the only way one will be able to hear this song, with that girl group sound that makes you want to hear it over and over. The liner notes, photographs, and scans of old concert fliers and articles, take this compilation over the top, making it a must-have addition to any fan of rare soul and funk. Everything was nicely designed by my main man David Castillo. Superfresh.

(Eccentric Soul: The Outskirts Of Deep City is available as a CD and as an MP3 download directly from The Numero Group website.)

Japan's EM Records released a great series of surf soundtrack albums earlier this year for the first time on CD. The label, known for digging in the most unpredictable places, have done it again with the release of two CD's that are the start of the labels' new Steel Pan Series

The first one I listened to was Still Around by The Rudy Smith Quartet. Smith was a steel drum musician originally from Trinidad whose musicianship lead him to Europe. A few musicians heard him and said that he had a jazz vibe to his playing. It would lead to him using the steel drums for jazz, and Still Around is the first album he released under his own name.

I have heard my share of jazz albums where they may be the use of an instrument that might be considered "foreign" to the music, be it steel guitar, 'ukulele, or cello. The same applies here, as the band (<Ole Matthiessen on piano, Gilbert Matthews on drums, and Niels Prastholm on bass) gets into a mood that would sound fitting on a Charles Mingus or Wynton Marsalis. The recording is clear and crip, definitely of 1984 vintage, and then Smith begins to play. One hears the steel drums and it may lead to how most people hear the drums. Here, Smith plays with the kind of confidence and grace that comes from having knowledge of his instrument, very much in the vein of Lionel Hampton. The quartet move into a bit of classical with "Be Bach", an original composition that shows their craft in the most brilliant way. Smith is a great improvisational artist, but he can keep to the traditions just as well.

I then listened to an album Smith did in 1971 with The Modern Sound Quintet. Originally released on Odeon/EMI in Finland in 1971 when Smith was living in Sweden, Otinku immediately gives off an Afrocentric vibe from the cover art, the red, black & green graphics, to the photos of the band. The title track could easily be mistaken for a rare Osibisa track, and it's a very moving piece too. Once the group gets that out of the way, they play some intense jazz, as they play their renditions of "Bye Bye Blackbird", "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", "Bags' Groove", "Softly As In The Morning Sunrise" and "Memphis Underground". These songs are familiar to any jazz fan and collector; what the steel drums do is give it a new and refreshing look and listen, and the band do an incredible job by playing their style of jazz that mixes up American, European, African, and Caribbean influences. It may sound different and distant at the same time, but once you get used to hearing steel drums in a jazz setting, with a group of musicians who are at the top of their game, it makes one hope that EM Records will find more gems like this in the near future.

The guys in Kidz In The Hall have recorded a new song called "Work To Do", which they are calling their Barack Obama Anthem. Elections are less than a year away, and they are one of the first hip-hop groups to let people know who they are supporting. You can take a listen to the track by watching the video for the song:

The new Wu-Tang Clan album will be released today (December 11th), called 8 Diagrams. The album leaked about a week ago, I haven't heard it yet, but some fans are saying it is a continuation of the greatness that is Wu. Others are split, or are unsure. What do you think? You can stream the album by clicking here.

If your tastes in music lean towards the eccentric, eclectic, or just all out weird, may I recommend Aquarius Records out of Berkeley, California. This is a store I plan on visiting someday, as they have the kind of off the wall sounds I enjoy, from ugly death metal out of Europe, to twisted elephant grunts from Asia, hyperactive electronica, Japanese noise, and the kind of box sets that will please either you or the cool cousin who knows good (or bad) music. I'm always amazed at what they have, so if you need a last minute stocking stuffer, or you're just sick of going on music forums and finding more links to TMZ, go to Aquarius.

The Kleptones have a gift they would like to share, a free download of a live show that they are calling Live'r Than You'll Ever Be. They want your soul, find out why by clicking here.

That's it for this week's edition of The Run-Off Groove. On the agenda the next time around are reviews for Malicious, Equal Time, Decimation Boulevard, and Ala Muerte/Max Bondi, among others.

If you have music that you'd like for me to review, in the vinyl or CD formats, you can contact me by sending me a message through my MySpace page. New hip-hop, funk reissues, free jazz, Japanese noise, electronic experimentation, 72 minutes of drones, metal, I want to hear you.

In the past I would have said On a self-promotional note but since this column is now in my own domain (somewhat), I can just say hey...

I do a weekly podcast, or what I would prefer to call a digital broadcast, called Book's Music. The broadcasts are as diverse as this column, and at least with a podcast I'm able to play a few musical games, do some re-edits, throw in exclusive remixes, and of course slip in my own music from time to time. I'm now up to broadcast #44, which you can either stream from the site or download to your digital player of choice. Where is "the site"? Here:http://booksmusic.podomatic.com/entry/2007-12-09T21_12_19-08_00

What's the future of the column? More columns of course. While I had initially wanted a "new home" for The Run-Off Groove, I think I will keep it here, at least for the time being. With the projects I'm doing now, I think it's time again to start a new website, and either I can incorporate the column within the new domain, or simply add a link here. If you've been a fan of this column, or have recently discovered it, please bookmark it and spread the word.

As for those "projects", it includes my work as an artist, as I plan on releasing an EP in the form of a 3 inch CD, and a full length album, which I hope to finish sometime next year. I also have two book projects that I am involved in, and while it would be great to have everything edited and compiled for publication, I'll take things as they come. Busy, as I should be.

That's it. Welcome to the new home of The Run-Off Groove, make sure to take off your shoes or slippers before you walk in. Ladies, come this way.

Friday, December 7, 2007

With MFA closing shop, this means that all of my columns will not be accessible after a certain point. For those who would like to take a look at what I've been talking about for the last 182 columns, click here:http://www.musicforamerica.org/blog/2009

Aloha! This is the new home for my music column known as The Run-Off Groove. If you are coming here from visiting Music For America or may have heard about the announcements elsewhere, welcome.

To make a long story short, after 3 1/2 years of doing my column, I had been told that MFA were going to stop running as a website. I initially was going to wait until the beginning of the year to start something again, but you know, why wait around? Here it is, new home, at least for now.

For those who are new to my column, The Run-Off Groove is where I review music from a wide range of genres. Initially, my column was meant to look into new hip-hop releases, and that's it. Since I listen to a wide range of music, I did not want to pass up a chance to review a bit of anything and everything. This is what The Run-Off Groove is about. I enjoy exploring the world of music, so I hope you'll bookmark this site and come back on a weekly basis. Ideally I would like to keep to the schedule of having a new column every Tuesday, but if I feel like posting some music news, or an article swipe, a YouTube video or something, I will. I'd like for it to evolve from what it was as "just a column", and perhaps this will be the start of something bigger and better.

About Me

John Book has been a music journalist for 23 years. Along with being one of the original contributing editors to the "All Music Guide" in 1992, he was a contributing writer to "The Rocket", "Goldmine", and "Discoveries", along with over 70 different publications. His knowledge of music comes from 28 years of record collecting/accumulating, and a curiosity about those sounds embedded within leading to a lot of research.
Outside of the music he listens to, he is also an artist/producer working under the name Crut. An album is being recorded for release hopefully before the end of 2007, with more to follow.
On the web, he was the founder of the Unofficial Wu-Tang Clan Mailing List (U-WU), and had also done fan sites for Prince Paul and Ozomatli before devoting his focus on his own work.
One of his major passions is to share information and history about the various aspects of recorded Hawaiian music in the 20th century. He is currently working on a book that he hopes will be the first of many to come.